| Title | : | A Blue So Blue |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1402721390 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781402721397 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 24 |
| Publication | : | First published September 12, 2003 |
In the big gray city,
Lived a little boy who never played...
With A Blue So Blue, Jean-François Dumont has created an outstanding picture book that will dazzle the eye, stir the imagination, and warm the heart. The exquisitely written tale whisks children off of a fantastic journey across land and sea. Every page features breathtaking paintings, rich in color and detail. It is simply a magical tour de force of illustration and storytelling.
The adventure begins with a little boy's marvelous dream of a perfect blue, a blue both soft and strong, a blue so blue you want to curl up inside it. Armed with a paintbrush, he travels the globe in search of this special color--from a famous art gallery to a mid-Atlantic fishing boat, from a remote blues club in the Mississippi Delta to a sun-drenched desert with a purple sky--only to realize that what he was looking for was right in his very own home after all.
A Blue So Blue Reviews
-
Strange story of a boy in search of a particular shade of blue that he keeps dreaming of. My question is, where are his parents as he travels all over the world in search of that blue? How was he able to transfer the blue from a painting or the ocean or a blues song into a dot of color in his book? I realize that fantasies are supposed to stretch the imagination, but this one didn't make me suspend it. If I was a security guard in an art museum and a kid came up to a painting hanging on the wall and started touching it with a paintbrush, I'd be over there in a flash to pull him away. I liked the way the story ended, however, and how it began. I just wish all the in between had made a bit more sense. Very strange.
-
Written by a French author, this book has a bit of a foreign flavor. A young boy searches for the blue of his dreams---far and wide, from the sky to the sea and even into a jazz club. A sweet message, an introduction to many different shades of blue (cerulean!) and beautifully written. This would be fun to pair with Laura Vaccaro Seeger's Green as both demonstrate that "one" color is hold many shades.
-
Both the illustrations and the prose are stunning.
A young boy goes on a search for the blue of his dreams, "a blue so blue, it was both dark and bright." He travels around the world across oceans, prairies, and up the Mississippi River to listen to the blues, but can not find that just right blue anywhere. -
Haunting. Not likely to have been translated and published in America had it not won awards. The cover image represents one scene, not the summation of theme nor the resolution. Ambiguous ending could lead to real discussions.
-
*review soon*
-
Brief Review:
This fiction story won the Prix Saint-Exupery best illustrated children's book award in 2004. This is an incredibly fun story that took a turn in the end that I did not predict. It has nice repetition, and it kept me wondering where the boy was going to go next. I think kids will like the cute ending, the curious adventure, and the unique illustrations.
Content area: This book could be used in an art class before teaching a lesson on tints and shades. By mixing different colors of blue paint with black and white (shade and tint), students will create different shades of blue. You could then have students use the different shades to paint mountains, a sky, or even the ocean to show the depth and effect of light on those objects.
Comprehension Questions:
1. There are many shades of blue, in fact there are 18 listed in the book alone. Which is your favorite and why? Does it remind you of anything?
Answer: My favorite is indanthrene blue. It is a lighter blue with purple and grays mixed in. It reminds me of the color of the ocean the first time I got to visit it. I was 18 and on my senior trip with my friends after high school.
2. The boy received a lot of advice along his journey that wasn't very helpful. What advice would you have given the boy on his quest?
Answer: I would have asked him if he had tried mixing any of the blues together. By taking the blue from the ocean and the blue form the music, he may have been able to find the perfect shade.
Wonders:
1. Where did his parents think he was while on this quest?
2. Why did he not realize his mom's eyes were the right blue he was looking for, I'm sure he'd seem then many times before. -
I loved the journey this child went on to find the blue that his heart sought. And I loved even more where he found that blue. I think it was the ending that made me like the book so much.
Read "for fun" for Children's Lit class. Review: Adorable story. The pictures are soothing and add to the story well. Sweet message that often the most wonderful things are at home. (But perhaps they're more appreciated after the journey to find them, and the realization of where they were.) 2004 Prix Saint-Exupery. -
this book goes on a journey with a boy who is trying to find the color blue of his dreams. he goes to different places and dips his paintbrush in various blues he sees trying ot find the right blue. very cute book
-
Picture Book
A creative story of a boy who travels across the world searching for the blue that he saw in his dreams, only to find it somewhere close to home. Beautiful illustrations and great verbs. -
One of the books I use to illustrate that European books for children are different from American books for children.
-
Put simply, this book is remarkable. The words are poetic and the pictures are perfect.
-
I had a surprisingly emotional response to this book, on several levels. Might have to go out and buy it!
-
This is a longer story--but my 4 year old really loved it. Our favorite word is "cerulean blue".
